why do we need to get vaccinated

There are many important reasons to get vaccinated. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are up to date on the vaccines that are right for you. Did you know that adults need vaccines too? If you didnвt, you are not alone. Many adults in the U. S. are not aware of the vaccines recommended for them в and that means they are not taking advantage of the best protection available against a number of serious diseases. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are up to date on the vaccines that are right for you. There are many reasons to get vaccinated; here are just 10. You may be at risk for serious diseases that could be prevented by vaccines. Many of these diseases (like influenza, pertussis, and shingles) are common in the U. S. , and many can be spread easily. You may be at increased risk for complications from certain diseases if you have a chronic health condition or weakened immune system. Adults with chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, or lung disease and those with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop complications from certain vaccine-preventable diseases. These complications can include long-term illness, hospitalization, and even death. You can reduce the chance that youвll pass on a serious disease to your loved ones. Most vaccine-preventable disease can be contagious, like influenza, meningitis, and whooping cough. Receiving your recommended vaccines can reduce the risk that you get sick and spread disease on to others.

You can help protect those who canвt get vaccinated. Some people may not be able to get certain vaccines based on age, health conditions, or other factors even though they are vulnerable to illness. Vaccines can help prevent the spread of contagious diseases to them. For example, newborns who are too young to get vaccinated for whooping cough are also most at risk of severe illness from the disease. By getting vaccinated when youвre pregnant, you can pass on protection to your baby. You donвt have time to get sick. You have too much responsibility to risk getting sick, including people counting on you at work and at home. Vaccines can help you stay healthy so you donвt waste time being sick. You donвt want to miss whatвs important to you. Spending time with family and friends or taking time out for your hobbies may not be possible if you get sick. Vaccines can help you stay healthy and enjoy the things you like to do. You donвt want to pay the price of getting sick. Adults who get a vaccine-preventable disease face the financial costs of medical visits and treatment, in addition to other costs like taking time off work, hiring babysitters, and traveling to and from doctorsв offices. You like to travel в or have to travel for work. Travel can present exciting opportunities, but it can also put you at risk for certain diseases.

Make sure you only bring back great memories, not illness! If you are going to travel internationally, you might need additional vaccines. See the You want the peace of mind that comes with protecting your health. People sometimes wait to get vaccines until they hear of outbreaks of disease like pertussis or influenza in their community. The time to be vaccinated is before disease arrives. Itвs important to stay up to date on your immunizations because no one can predict when disease will appear. You donвt want to feel crummy if you can prevent it! No one wants to feel sick. There are more than a dozen diseases that you can protect against simply by getting vaccinated! Adult vaccines are available at doctorвs offices, health departments, pharmacies, and even workplaces. to find out which vaccines are recommended for you and discuss your results with your healthcare professional during your next appointment. Find a. Share your reason for getting vaccinated with family and friends! Donвt wait. Vaccinate! Why immunize our children? Sometimes we are confused by the messages in the media. First we are assured that, thanks to vaccines, some diseases are almost gone from the U. S. But we are also warned to immunize our children, ourselves as adults, and the elderly. Diseases are becoming rare due to vaccinations. It s true, some diseases (like polio and diphtheria) are becoming very rare in the U. S. Of course, they are becoming rare largely because we have been vaccinating against them.

But it is still reasonable to ask whether it s really worthwhile to keep vaccinating. It s much like bailing out a boat with a slow leak. When we started bailing, the boat was filled with water. But we have been bailing fast and hard, and now it is almost dry. We could say, Good. The boat is dry now, so we can throw away the bucket and relax. But the leak hasn t stopped. Before long we d notice a little water seeping in, and soon it might be back up to the same level as when we started. Keep immunizing until disease is eliminated. Unless we can stop the leak (eliminate the disease), it is important to keep immunizing. Even if there are only a few cases of disease today, if we take away the protection given by vaccination, more and more people will become infected and will spread disease to others. Soon we will undo the progress we have made over the years. Japan reduced pertussis vaccinations, and an epidemic occurred. In 1974, Japan had a successful pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination program, with nearly 80% of Japanese children vaccinated. That year only 393 cases of pertussis were reported in the entire country, and there were no deaths from pertussis. But then rumors began to spread that pertussis vaccination was no longer needed and that the vaccine was not safe, and by 1976 only 10% of infants were getting vaccinated.

In 1979 Japan suffered a major pertussis epidemic, with more than 13,000 cases of whooping cough and 41 deaths. In 1981 the government began vaccinating with acellular pertussis vaccine, and the number of pertussis cases dropped again. What if we stopped vaccinating? So what would happen if we stopped vaccinating here? Diseases that are almost unknown would stage a comeback. Before long we would see epidemics of diseases that are nearly under control today. More children would get sick and more would die. We vaccinate to protect our future. We don t vaccinate just to protect our children. We also vaccinate to protect our grandchildren and their grandchildren. With one disease, smallpox, we stopped the leak in the boat by eradicating the disease. Our children don t have to get smallpox shots anymore because the disease no longer exists. Smallpox is now only a memory, and if we keep vaccinating against other diseases, the same will someday be true for them too. Vaccinations are one of the best ways to put an end to the serious effects of certain diseases. A 64-page booklet introducing parents to the 14 childhood diseases and the vaccines that can protect children from them. News and information for parents who wish to learn the truth about immunization and how best to protect their family from vaccine-preventable diseases.